Talking Up Music Education is a podcast from The NAMM Foundation about music education. Download and listen to episodes featuring women in music.
Catching Up with Grammy-nominated Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton, 2018 NAMM Foundation SupportMusic Champion Award recipient, talks about becoming a super star before she was ready; settling in to her freedom as a songwriter; parenting as a touring musician; and her philanthropic work with Nashville schools.
“The truth is everything. Truth has to be in your art and in your work.” – Vanessa Carlton
Finding One’s Zone of Genius: Laura Escudés Pathway from Classical Musician to Live Show Designer and Producer
Violinist Laura Escudé chats about her early beginnings as a music student playing in orchestras and her career creating and designing live shows for herself as well as other artists like Kayne West, The Weeknd, Demi Lovato and many more.
“I play violin, and I'm also a music producer. I call myself a controllerist. So I use MIDI controllers to control my violin. It's all electric: amplified, mixing, and effects and original music and live looping—so looping my violin in real time—and vocals. And it's just very fun.” - Laura Escudé
Get Curious, Then Do Something: Gina Chavez Explores the World with Her Music
Gibson artist Gina Chavez got her start in the Austin Independent School District where she discovered a love of singing. From the moment she discovered her dad’s guitar tucked away in a closet she’s been playing to audiences all over the world seeking to connect to audience and to connect them with each other.
“I [was] kind of a sponge. I like to pick up parts of other people's cultural expression through music and try to fuse that into my music a little bit.” - Gina Chavez
Mandy Harvey: The Courage to Have an Infinite Number of Dreams
Kala artist, vocalist, and America's Got Talent contestant Mandy Harvey found her voice after a devastating hearing loss that derailed her plans to become a vocal teacher. She shared her inspirational story and performed LIVE at Summer NAMM.
“The sound waves don't stop just because I can't absorb them in one part of my body. Your body is made up of water, 80-something percent, and so all of that sound is hitting you from all these different angles all over the place and traveling up and down. So, it's hitting me; it's just not hitting that specific piece, but it’s hitting here and here and here and here.” - Mandy Harvey